Santana's Super Secret Surprise
by kempokarate12
Summary: Santana promised a surprise for Brittany once she earned eight more duck stickers. But what do you get someone like Brittany? You get an adventure. You get a scavenger hunt. You get overcoming your fears. You get a beautiful friendship.
1. A Message in a Bottle

**Hey everyone! It's me again. This is sort of a spin off to one of my other stories "I'll Be Your Nightlight." If you don't read it, don't worry you won't be completely in the dark for this story, but it will explain why Santana is doing what she is doing. And also… I'd really appreciate any constructive criticism for anything I've written, so yes. Anyway, here's the spark notes version in case you don't want to go and read "I'll Be Your Nightlight" : Brittany earns stickers from Santana when she does something good. She only needed eight more stickers until she received "Santana's Super Secret Surprise". Well, here we are eight stickers later! **

**Just wanted to mention a few things before we get started. It's one surprise, but it will be split up to about six chapters. You'll understand why I do that as you go on. Also I realize Brittany may be a tad bit out of character, but y'all know what I'm talking about when I say it's IMPOSSIBLE to write her the way she's written in the show. And I realize Sectionals happened in the winter, and this story takes place sometime in the spring. There's a reason for the season, so just pretend time doesn't really matter. I know it doesn't go in tune with the show, but hey that's what FanFiction is all about.**

**I would also like to give a HUGE thanks to my pal (( tee hee )) Cognitivism for really helping me out with this story. You're a champ! Oh and killercereal, I finally give you "Santana's Super Secret Surprise"! **

**P.S. Glee is not owned by me or my family. The only thing that's mine is the idea. I have stolen the characters. **

The word no according to the Webster Dictionary is used to express refusal, denial, disbelief, emphasis or disagreement. The word no is used by parents all over the world every second of the day. The word no is a favorite in the eyes of teachers. The word no is coincidentally the first word Santana Lopez ever said and she has been a fan of that word ever since. There are only two situations in which the word no means absolutely nothing to Santana Lopez: when she's not the one using it, or whenever Brittany Susan Pierce is involved. For some strange reason Santana forgets the word no even exists once Brittany wants something. It's because of this bizarre phenomenon Santana Lopez found herself on a paddle boat, with a swan painted on the side, in the middle of a pond, sitting next to her best friend one Sunday afternoon.

"San! Look, look, look! That duck just waved at me! Did you see it? Did you see it?" Brittany squealed as she leaned over the side of the boat to try and get the duck to come shake her hand.

"Yes, Britt I saw it. Now will you please stay in the boat? If you fall over I'm not fishing you out!"

Brittany looked over at the brunette with puppy dog eyes, "Can I least keep my hand in the water and let the duck come to me?"

"Alright, fine. But your back absolutely HAS to be touching the seat at all times. Otherwise hands stay in your lap. Are we clear?"

"Clear… Party pooper."

"Oh, I'm sorry for not wanting anything to happen to you if, God forbid, you make this boat tip over. I must be such a horrible person for actually wanting someone I care deeply about to be safe," Santana retorted, the sarcasm in her voice reaching an all time high.

"Yes you are." Brittany closed her eyes, smiling to herself, as she let her head fall lazily back onto the seat of the boat.

The two girls sat back allowing a comfortable silence to blanket them as the cool spring breeze tickled their skin. Santana stole a glance at the blonde next to her. Brittany still had her eyes closed and her fingertips were tracing slow circles in the water, all attempts to get the duck forgotten as she was lost in her own world. The smile that had danced itself across the Latina's lips faltered as she remembered what was in her bag and realized she didn't want to break the peaceful state her best friend was currently in. But she knew this was her moment of opportunity, and if she wanted her plan to work she needed to act now.

As she grabbed her bag Santana suddenly became very thankful of her good fortune. She had this day planned out for weeks ever since Brittany earned her last sticker for dancing at Sectionals even though she was terrified of messing up. Seeing the light in Brittany's blue eyes when she realized she accomplished something all by herself had been the inspiration for today's activities. But when Brittany had begged Santana to go on a paddle boat today with her, Santana became extremely worried her plan would no longer work. As it turned out, however, the blonde had unknowingly made the situation much more convenient by bringing them here.

Making sure Brittany's eyes were still closed the brunette reached into her bag. When she felt her fingers curl around the desired object, she quickly pulled it out and threw it across the pond into the water.

"Oh my God, Britt!" Santana suddenly cried out.

"What?"

'Do you see that?"

"What? See what?"

"That!" Santana pointed to where what she had thrown landed, "That big, shiny thing in the water!"

Brittany sat up as far as her body, and Santana, would allow her to. She scanned the water until her eyes landed on the object in question. "Yeah! I see it! I can't tell what it is though. Can you?"

"No. Let's go see what it is then!"

The Latina began pedaling furiously, but stopped when she noticed her partner in crime wasn't doing the same. She was too busy bouncing up and down from anticipation.

"Brittany, I understand you're excited, but if you don't help pedal then we're just going to go in circles all day. And then someone else might see it and beat us to it. If that happens we'll never know what is over there!"

That was all Santana had to say to get the blonde to start pedaling as fast as she could. Within seconds the two girls found themselves next to the mystery below the surface. Santana strategically positioned the boat so that Brittany was _not_ next to the object, otherwise she'd jump into the water in a heartbeat. However, the blonde was straining her next as she tried to lean across her friend so she could see what was in the water.

"I can't see it! San do you see it? What is it?"

"I'm not sure we'll have to get it out of the water."

At those words Brittany practically threw herself across the brunette in an attempt to reach the bottom of the pond. Santana had an instant heart attack as the boat began rocking dangerously to the left.

"No," Santana caught Brittany before she fell over. "_You_ sit back down. _I_ will get it."

Reaching back into her bag the Latina pulled out a small fishing net. "_Thank you Uncle Phil for being such an avid fisher_." Lowering the net into the water Santana struggled to lift what she had originally thrown in with only one arm since the blonde was currently squeezing the life out of her other one.

When she finally got the net out of the water she watched as blue eyes grew ten times larger as the owner of them recognized what Santana was holding.

"It's a message in a bottle!"

Sure enough, inside the net was a clear bottle with a rolled up piece of paper inside. Once Santana got the bottle out of the net she immediately thrust it into Brittany's awaiting grasp. "Open it."

Before the smaller girl could even blink, Brittany had the bottle opened and upside down, dropping the paper into her hand. Slowly unrolling the piece of paper the blonde furrowed her eyebrows as she read what was written.

"Well? What's it say?" Santana asked feigning curiosity, but still really excited.

"I'm not sure…"

"That's okay sound it out."

"No I know what it says. I just don't know _what_ it says."

"Read it aloud."

"'I fly but I'm not a bird. I need a person to get me in the air but I'm not a plane. I come in many different shapes and colors but I like it best when I'm diamond shaped and yellow. Two plus two is four and four equals one. When you find the message it will give you your next clue'," Brittany stopped to look up at the girl next to her. "NEXT CLUE! San there's more! There's another clue after this one!"

"That's awesome! It's like a mystery! And if you figure everything out you'll be like a detective!"

"I know! I've always wanted to be a detective. This is so cool!"

"Alright, let's calm down for a sec. We have to figure out what this clue means before we can figure out the next one. I fly but I'm not a bird…" Santana scrunched her face pretending to think. She wanted Brittany to figure this out with any help from herself.

"Oh I know! It's Finn! Finn can fly!"

"It's most definitely not Finn." _Okay, maybe I'll help her out a little._

"Okay, never mind then. What else? You need a person to make it fly but it's not a plane. And we're positive it's not Finn?" Santana shook her head. "Just checking. It likes being diamond shaped and yellow. Hey, my cousin has a yellow, diamond shaped kite! It flies but it's not a bird…"

"Say that again."

"What? It flies but it's not a bird…?"

"No before that."

"My cousin has a yellow, diamond shaped kite?" Suddenly a smile flashed across Brittany's face as she realized why Santana was nodding at her while grinning. "That's it! It's a kite! It flies and needs a person to get it in the air! Kites come in different shapes and colors, and sometimes they are diamond shaped and are yellow!"

"You're absolutely right! Good job Brittany!"

"Now where are we going to find a kite…" The Dutch girl trailed off as her eyes searched the sky. "Yes! Come on Santana we have to go to the park! That's where we'll find our next clue."

Both girls began paddling back to shore faster than they've ever run for Coach Sylvester in all the years they've known her. Santana never had a bigger smile on her face as she watched her friend's determinism to get to the next clue. Brittany Susan Pierce was on a mission.

_Phase one complete._


	2. Run Like A Cheetah

**Alright, so here is chapter 2 to our favorite friends-with-benefits-soon-to-be-a-real-couple's adventure!**

**I want you all to know that I'm really nervous about this chapter because I don't think it's that good. So don't be **_**too**_** harsh with your reviews. That would be appreciated. But don't back down out of constructive criticism either, because I really want to make the rest of the story good. Haha ^_^**

**Anyway, I really hope that you guys enjoy this chapter because I greatly enjoyed picturing it happening. These two are so adorable together and I sincerely hope that once they get together on the show… because it WILL happen people… we'll see a lot more cute moments with them together. Like when Santana was helping Brittany with the words to "Dammit Janet". That was precious. =}**

**Moving on… I give you phase two of Santana's Super Secret Surprise! **

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It wasn't long before pale fingers clung to tan ones as the cheerleaders sped through the park.

"Brittany, slow down! Where are we going?" Santana gasped as she frantically tried to keep up with the sprinting girl she was currently attached to. She knew very well where they were _supposed_ to be going, she just wanted to make sure Brittany was headed in the right direction before they ended up on the other side of town.

"Hang on we're almost there!"

"Where is _there_?"

"There!" With her free hand Brittany pointed towards the sky on the other side of the park. Santana followed the gesture until her brown eyes met what Brittany was referring to.

Up ahead were dozens of kites that were soaring through the air. The blonde knew if the next clue had anything to do with kites, she would find it there.

When they finally reached the field, Brittany looked around excitedly at all the kites flying around them. Santana was just happy she was dragged, rather quickly she might add, to the right location.

"Now what?" Brittany asked the Latina.

"I don't know. Think back to what the clue said."

"Well, we know it's a kite. That's easy. It also said it comes it likes it best when it is yellow and diamond shaped. Do you think the kite we need to look for is a yellow diamond?"

"It's worth a shot."

Two pairs of eyes looked up and began searching amongst the multiple kites in the sky for the one they were looking for. They saw blue dragons, pink butterflies, weird green circle ones, but no yellow diamonds.

"Hey, Britt, I don't see anything. Do you?"

"No," the Dutch girl sighed as she lowered her gaze to the ground defeated.

"Don't give up, we'll find it," Santana tried to encourage.

Suddenly Brittany perked up as she spotted a hint of yellow in the grass a few feet away. "I think I found it!" In less than two seconds Brittany was holding the yellow kite and studying the front. "'Lady the'? I don't get it…"

"Let me see?"

Brittany turned the kite around so the front was visible to Santana. In giant letters were the words **LADY** and **THE**, and the word **LADY** was above the word **THE**.

"What does 'lady the' mean? This is a terrible clue."

"I'm not sure. What else did our first clue say? Maybe that'll help us figure this one out."

The blonde handed the kite to the Latina so she could read the second half of the clue they already found, "'Two plus two is four and four equals one. When you find the message it will give you your next clue.'"

"Okay, so, two plus two is four…" Santana began pretending to count on her fingers as she patiently waited for Brittany to come up with something.

A few seconds later a timid voice spoke up, "Maybe… no never mind."

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Brittany what is it? Come on, you had something."

"What I was gonna say was… two plus two is four right? Well, there are two words on this kite, so maybe… maybe there will be two more words on another kite. That's four words all together. Two plus two." Brittany looked at her friend uncertainly, worried that her logic made no sense at all.

"You. Are. A. GENIUS!" Santana cried out with joy. "How did you think of that all by yourself? I never would have figured that out!"

The Latina watched as Brittany's body swelled with pride for herself as the confidence continued to grow inside the taller girl. Normally in school the blonde always relied on Santana to figure out even the simplest of tasks. But now she was putting the pieces together all on her own and could easily say she was proud of herself for the first time.

"It just made sense in my head. But it still doesn't explain how four equals one though."

_I'll give her this one. She's done enough math for one day._ "I think it means all four words create one message. So your next clue will only have four words in total. Four words equals one clue."

"That makes sense. Good job San! Now let's look for that second kite."

For the next few minutes the two girls searched high and low for the second kite, but it was nowhere to be found. Santana was starting to worry Brittany may never figure out what she was supposed to do, until she heard the disgruntled explanation coming from her other half.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid! Of course that's what we have to do! Kites _fly,_ Santana. We have to make this one fly in order to see the rest of the message. I bet someone else is probably waiting for us to fly ours before they fly theirs."

"What makes you say that?"

"I don't really know. But it's worth a shot right?"

"Yes it most definitely is. When did you get to be so smart?"

"When I had tea with the humming bird that lives under my shoe box."

"Was this recently?"

"Friday night."

"Ah, I see. I haven't seen you since Thursday, which would explain why I'm so amazed at you right now! Alright miss smarty-pants, fly that kite!"

Brittany's face suddenly fell as she slowly lost what courage she had gained, "I don't know how to fly a kite. You do it."

The smaller girl knew Brittany had always wanted to be able to fly a kite ever since she was a little girl, but never learned how. This was step two. But Santana also knew that Brittany knew she was able to fly a kite. The Latina had to come up with a good enough excuse so that Brittany would be forced to fly the kite herself. _It's a good thing I've been prepared for a _long_ time._

"I can't. I strained a muscle in my shoulder at Cheerios practice and Coach Sylvester said I'm not allowed to do any strenuous activity. And flying a kite would be considered strenuous activity."

"Please?" Brittany begged, "If you don't fly the kite we'll never know what the second part of the clue is!"

"Sorry. Can't. Doctor's orders. You'll just have to do it for me."

"But I can't. I don't know how. I won't be able to-" Brittany began rambling.

"It's super simple. All you gotta do is let the kite drag behind you as you run really, really fast towards the wind."

"Like a cheetah?"

"Yeah, like a cheetah. Then you just gotta keep running until the kite catches the wind and BAM! It's flying."

"I don't know…"

Santana grabbed the taller girl's forearm squeezing it lightly, "You can do it Brittany. I know you can. And once you do you'll be so happy that you did it without anyone helping or doing it for you. Just get a good running start and let the kite do the rest."

"And you promise I'll be able to make it fly?" Brittany asked after thinking to herself for a few moments.

"I promise," Santana held up her little finger and waited for Brittany to accept the offer. "Okay, you ready? Go fly that kite!"

After one last huff or uncertainty, the Dutch girl took off running, letting the kite trail behind her. Santana's heart nearly stopped working and her breath caught in her throat as she watched the kite start to catch the wind and rise up into the air, only to release her breath in disappointment as the kite instantly dropped onto Brittany's head a few seconds later. There was a mess of yellow as the blonde frantically untangled herself from the flying death trap.

"See? I told you I wouldn't be able to do it!" Brittany yelled over at Santana, frustration written all over her face.

"Not with that attitude you won't! Keep trying, you'll get it!"

Over the next five minutes Brittany ran around the field desperately trying to get the kite into the air. Santana never lost faith that Brittany would be able to do it, but she could see her friend becoming more and more discouraged by the second. The brunette was about to throw out words of encouragement when suddenly the kite shot twenty feet above their heads and stayed there.

"YES!" Santana shrieked with delight as she jumped up and down and punched the sky. For a second it was hard to tell who was happier: Brittany or Santana.

"I did it!" Brittany shouted from her spot.

"I knew you could!" The brunette began running towards her friend, "Now whatever you do, do _not_ let go. Hold on to that kite no matter what!" When Santana reached Brittany she flung her arms around the taller girl's upper body, being careful to avoid her hands that were still holding the kite string, "I am so proud of you chica!"

Brittany's face lit up as Santana continued to praise her. She suddenly gained back the courage to continue on with the investigation. "Okay, now we just have to see if someone else has the other half of the clue. I really hope I'm right about this!"

"You are right, Britt. You are completely, one hundred percent, absolutely correct. All we can do now is wait and see what happens."

Once again the two girls kept their eyes locked on to the sky in hopes that something would turn up. Santana began biting her lip and bouncing up and down on her toes in anticipation. _Come on, come on, come ON! Don't you _dare_ let me down or so help me God I will-_

"Look! There it is! There's the other half of the clue! Over there! Do you see it?" Brittany pointed to another kite a few feet away that was identical to her own, except the words were different, "This one says 'And Tramp'. What do you think that means?"

"I don't know. Try moving over a little. Maybe it will make more sense when the kites are closer together."

The Dutch girl slowly finagled herself so the two kites were pretty much on top of one another. Brittany squinted her eyes as she looked up at the four words. Within a second a light bulb went off in her head as she declared, "Lady and the Tramp! It says Lady and the Tramp!"

"Oh my God it does! Brittany you're incredible! That's our clue, Lady and the Tramp! But what is it trying to tell us?"

Brittany looked at the smaller girl with a sly smile plastered across her face, "Are you hungry?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Because we're going to Breadstix!" Brittany declared.

While her best friend was distracted with the duty of reeling the kite back down to Earth, the Latina took the time to send a quick text: **Thanx 4 pulling through. I so owe u.**

Santana barely had time to read the response before Brittany was quickly dragging her away to their next location.

**No prob. The Puckasaurous always delivers. N e way, I like 2 c Brittany =D**


	3. Meatballs Say What We Can't

**Alright, here is chapter 3. I'm not gonna lie I'm extremely nervous about putting this chapter up for two reasons. First, the important reason, I really don't think this was written well. This is pretty much a filler chapter to get from the park to the next place. I believe this chapter is necessary for the story to develop the way I want it to, but something doesn't feel right about it. I've read this chapter over and over and over again like fifteen times, but I still can't figure out what needs to be fixed. So I apologize for that.**

**The second reason I'm nervous about posting this chapter is definitely more of a selfish reason. My other two chapters haven't really gotten any feedback, and I'm worried people aren't responding to my story as well as I'd like. I'm like Tinkerbell (( and Rachel Berry )), I need applause to live! Haha.**

**But yeah, I don't mean to come across as needy, but if you guys have ANYTHING to say I would really appreciate it. Even if you just say "good" or "bad" it'll help me write my next chapters. Any form of criticism is definitely welcomed.**

**One more thing before we continue: FanFiction doesn't like having a question mark and an exclamation point right next to each other, and always removes the exclamation point when I upload my stories. So for future reference if it seems like a question should be shouted it most likely is in my original document. But the transformation onto FanFiction takes it out. Just an FYI.**

**Okay then. Enough of that. Here's chapter 3. I really hope you enjoy it!**

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Brittany and Santana made record time getting to Breadstix. They jumped over every bush, cut through every corner and side tackled every person that got in their way. When they arrived at the restaurant, they brushed passed the hostess and made a bee line towards their usual booth. They were now sitting across from one another laughing as they tried to catch their breaths from the journey.

"Boy, am I glad the clue we found on the kites involves food because I am starving!" Brittany proclaimed.

"Amen to that!"

Santana relaxed in her seat as she watched blue eyes scan the restaurant endlessly as they tried to find _anything _that would lead them to their next clue. When she didn't see anything, Brittany lowered her head and leaned across the table to the smaller girl. She blocked her mouth from view with her hand as she whispered, "I don't see anything suspicious. Do you?"

Santana copied the other girl's actions as she too whispered, "The only thing suspicious I see in here is you. Does that mean you're our next clue?"

Brittany leaned back and began patting herself multiple times, appearing as if she had forgotten what pocket she put her keys in. "No, I don't think so."

"Yeah, me neither. Don't worry though; I'm sure the next clue will turn up at some point. How did you know it would be here anyway?"

Staring at her friend like she had just sprouted an extra arm, Brittany explained bewildered, "Have you _not_ been paying any attention whenever we watch 'Lady and the Tramp'? The best scene is when they have their spaghetti dinner. Breadstix is the only place in Ohio that makes spaghetti actually worth eating. So, 'Lady and the Tramp' equals spaghetti and spaghetti equals Breadstix. See how that works?"

"Wow… must have been some tea."

"Hummingbirds make the best tea. You should try it sometime."

"I'll definitely make a note of it."

It was then that their waitress walked up to the table the girls were sitting at. Brittany's eye's immediately widened in alarm when she recognized who was going to be serving them. It was the same waitress they had when they dined and dashed with Puck. It was also the same waitress the cheerleaders gave a hard time to when there were invisible mice in their meals. Brittany became extremely worried the woman before them would refuse to provide them food, because she was afraid by not getting their meal they would not get their next clue; and that she also wouldn't be able to stop the angry growling in her stomach.

Santana on the other hand breathed out a sigh of relief as she watched the woman approach them. After all the crap Santana had put her through in the past, the brunette was extremely worried the waitress would have backed out of her promise; but here she was. _So far so good. But then again… the meal is still young._

"Hey girls, what can I get you?"

Santana looked over at her friend who was gaping at the woman standing next to their table. Brittany was still too shocked to say anything so Santana answered for her, "May we please just have a gigantic bowl of spaghetti?"

"You most certainly can. I will be right back with that."

"Thank you very much!"

Somewhere during the exchange between the two, Brittany whipped her head towards Santana furrowing her eyebrows in puzzlement.

Noticing the expression her friend was giving her, the Latina simply shrugged her shoulders, "What?"

"Since when did you know how to be polite?"

"Since I played Candyland with a jaguar on top of Mount Everest."

"Lucky!"

Before their conversation could go any further the waitress was back with their food. She placed it down at the center of the table and took a step back. "Enjoy your meal ladies." The two cheerleaders thanked her and she left them to enjoy their pasta.

"Alright B, dig in!" Brittany only stared at the bowl of spaghetti in front of her uneasily. "What's wrong? Does it not have the right sauce to pasta ratio?"

The Dutch girl began fiddling with her napkin as she spoke very hesitantly, "San, I have to tell you something… But you have to PROMISE you won't get angry, okay?"

"Okay…" Santana dragged out the word unsure of what was going on.

"The waitress forgot to give us silverware, but it's okay because I'm pretty sure we have to slurp up the spaghetti like they do in the movie. Please don't hurt anyone!" Brittany spurted out so fast it all sounded like one word.

Santana couldn't help but laugh at the adorable ridiculousness of her best friend's concern. "Chill girl. I had a feeling that was what we were going to have to do. No need to have a spazz attack."

"So you're fine with eating this like Lady and Tramp do in the movie?"

"Of course I am. I'd do anything for you. You know that."

At that statement Brittany reached over and took the tan girl's hand in her own pale one and stared affectionately at her best friend. After a few moments of smiling at each other the two girls began slurping away at their pasta. With her head bent over the table as slurped up some pasta, Santana couldn't help but keep her eyes glued on to Brittany. She was hoping that leading Brittany here would be a nice break and the perfect time to talk to the dancer and find out how she was doing. But what Santana _really_ wanted to know about was how Artie was treating her. The Latina was still peeved over the whole "magic comb" incident, and she wished Brittany had broken up with the kid right then and there. Santana found herself selfishly hoping Artie was a horrible boyfriend so she could sweep in and rescue her best friend. She wanted to tell the taller girl that Artie would never be good enough for her; that he didn't deserve her. She wanted to tell Brittany she herself would be the only person in the world who could take care of her correctly. She wanted to tell Brittany so many things, but looking at the blonde, who was fully content in slurping up spaghetti, Santana knew any words would just ruin the moment.

However, while sitting there, as she admired the way her blue-eyed beauty was able to completely be herself without a single care in the world; Santana knew she needed to express how much Brittany meant to her before it was too late. _"Before stupid wheels takes her away for good"_. The only problem was Santana had never been very good at expressing her feelings, especially when it came to Brittany. For some reason Brittany always made Santana produce word vomit every time she tried to convey how she felt.

Suddenly her brown eyes spotted the meatball closest to her, and she knew she had found her way to communicate. Very slowly the cheerleader leaned towards the table and, with the tip of her nose, carefully nudged the meatball towards the other girl. When she looked up her brown eyes met sparkling blue ones as her best friend appeared to be on the verge of tears.

"For me?" Santana nodded in response. "This is the nicest, sweetest, most awesomest thing anyone's ever done for me!" Brittany choked out.

It was now the blonde's turn to slowly lean across the table; but this time instead of pushing the meatball with her nose, Brittany carefully wiped the sauce that had found a home on Santana's face. The Latina didn't know if her body was overheating more from how incredibly adorable the Dutch girl was acting, or from the gentle touch of the dancer's skin against her own.

"Can I keep you?" _Wow… corny much? Nice moves Santana. Real smooth, _she winced.

Thankfully, Brittany didn't notice. "Forever and ever."

"You promise?"

"I pinky promise." Brittany held up her little finger across the table for Santana to take. The Latina immediately latched on to the awaiting finger and didn't let go until she heard a voice penetrating her thoughts.

"How is everything?"

"Awesome! Don't worry there were no mice this time." Brittany assured the waitress.

"I'm happy to hear that. Here's your check for whenever you guys are ready." And with that she walked off.

Brittany instantly snatched up the check and forced Santana to guess how much the bill was. Once Santana announced her estimation, the blonde opened the check book only to furrow her eyebrows at what she saw. "I don't think this is right."

"What? Did they charge us for refills?"

"I don't think they charged us for anything. I don't see any numbers on here, only words."

"What does it say?" Santana asked suddenly getting nervous. _Please be only what I told you to write!_

"'I come once a year and lurk inside the purple building. Most people find my surroundings **amusing**, but find my home to be rather **haunted**. I sleep in a bed shaped like my body and I like being wrapped up in many sheets. It is me who holds your next clue." Brittany looked at her friend confused, "See? No charge."

"Brittany don't you realize? That's our next clue! The one we've been waiting for!"

Brittany looked at the check again, turned it upside down, then right-side up, and then upside down again before confirming, "Huh. Well, would ya look at that? It is!"

The waitress, who had been watching them fondly from a distance, walked back to their table.

"All set?"

"Yeah, but you forgot to give us the real check. See you gave us the clue to a scavenger hunt we're on." Brittany informed her.

"What clue?"

"This one," Brittany held up the piece of paper. "As happy that I am you gave this to us, we still need the real check."

"That looks like a real check to me," the waitress answered after studying the paper. "You girls have a wonderful day." As she reached to grab the empty pasta bowl she winked at Santana.

The Latina in turn flashed a grateful smile. "Thank you," she mouthed. _Never again will I spit chewed up pieces of food at you!_ Turning her attention back to her best friend Santana asked, "So what do you think this clue means?"

"Well I'm no Shakespeare, but I think the fact that 'amusing' and 'haunted' are both bolded has something to do with being important."

"Why Watson I think you're on to something!"

"Hmmm… it only comes once a year. Its surroundings are amusing but its home is haunted… What could it-?" All of a sudden Brittany's heart dropped to her stomach and Santana could visibly see the already pale girl lose any color she did posses in her face.

"What is it?"

"Our next clue is inside the haunted house at the amusement park…"

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**Thank you for reading!**

**By the way, I have a surprise for all of you guys too! It's under the Review button. ^_^**


	4. Lead Me Through the Dark

**Alright, here's the Haunted House part of our adventure. This, in my opinion, is one of my better chapters. Though I still don't think it's the best I could have done. I wanted to get some things out there in regards to how Brittany is feeling, without giving too much away. That's for the next chapter.**

**Anyway, I really hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Once again, reviews are highly appreciated. I'm not gonna lie I was SUPER excited to get a whole whopping SIX reviews last time! Haha. My goal is definitely seven now. **

**Without further ado… I give you Brittany et Santana dans une maison du haunted! (( I took like 6 years of French and all I remember is Bonjour and Je ne sais pas… so I apologize for that. I just felt the need to speak En Francais. Lol ))**

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The trip to the amusement park, while its location was fairly close to Breadstix, took longer than necessary. It seemed like Brittany's legs didn't know how to move faster than molasses in the winter. But that was okay. Santana was going to let Brittany reach their destination at her own speed; no matter how slow that speed may be.

"Tell me again how you figured out where to go?" Santana asked. She wanted the blonde to relay her thought process one more time so it would become lodged in her brain. The Latina knew Brittany learned best by repetition, so this would be a good way to have Brittany retain information without it seeming like schoolwork.

"Um, well…" Brittany explained, "the clue said it only comes once a year, so that narrowed it down to a few events. I knew it wasn't anyone's birthday because no one that I know was born today. The bolded words helped me too. It said the surroundings were amusing and I know that word means fun. Just like I know that verbs are action words. So I thought of what was fun that only comes once a year, and that's the amusement park. It only comes to town in the spring. Then the part about his home being haunted and purple made me realize the haunted house is painted purple, and it has the word haunted right in its name."

"Do you have a plan for when we get inside?"

"Yup, here it is: We go in, we run for our lives, we get out."

"Do you know where the clue is going to be?"

"Don't know don't care. I figured as we're running around we can just grab the clue on the way."

"Yeah, but Brittany, if we know exactly where it is we can run straight to it and be out faster. That way we won't have to spend the entire time we're inside looking around everywhere for it. It will be quicker this way."

The blonde thought about that logic for a second before realizing Santana was right. "You have a point. Okay, um the clue said it sleeps in bed shaped like its body… A vampire?"

"Maybe. But last time I checked vampires don't wrap themselves up in sheets though."

"True." Brittany suddenly started laughing at a memory that popped into her head, "Hey, remember last Halloween when my sister wrapped herself in toilet paper and claimed she was a mummy? It was hilarious because she kept falling over."

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Santana nudged the girl next to her.

"That my sister is clumsy?"

"Think more along the lines of who has the clue."

"My sister has the clue?"

"Nope, I'm thinking mummy."

"The clue is with my mom?" Brittany was starting to get really confused.

"No! The clue is in the haunted house with the mummy!"

"I'd rather have the clue be with my sister. She's not as scary."

The two girls left their conversation at that as they continued their journey to find the mummy. Up ahead Santana could see the main gate to the amusement park. She took a quick peek to her side and noticed the blonde was starting to freak out. She had begun to bite her lower lip and wring her hands together to prevent herself from passing out.

"Hey, let's talk about something else. How are you?"

"Good," Brittany's voice came out quiet.

"Yeah? How are things with Artie going?" _Maybe now is my chance_, Santana thought to herself.

"They're okay."

"Just okay?"

"Mmm-hmm. I mean, he's a great boyfriend and all, and he's super nice, and I like when we hang out, but… I don't know. Something just doesn't feel right when I'm with him. His hand doesn't fit with mine like yours does. He doesn't understand me like you do. And he would never do most of the things you and I do together. I guess what I'm trying to say is he isn't – "

Brittany suddenly froze, her thought lingering unfinished between them. Santana had been hanging on to every word and she nearly stumbled over as the taller girl stopped dead in her tracks.

The cheerleaders now stood in front of the entrance to the haunted house, causing Brittany's breath to catch in her throat as she heard screaming coming from inside.

"Nope. I'm not going in. Can't," the Dutch girl announced as she turned on her heel to walk away when she heard a particular blood curdling shriek.

Santana quickly grabbed her friend and pulled her back. "Yes you are, and yes you can. Remember when you claimed you couldn't fly a kite? Well what did you do? You flew a kite!"

"Yes, but that was different!"

"How? Britt, you'll be fine. All you gotta do is hold my hand and I'll lead you through. You won't even have to open your eyes. Come on." The brunette held out her hand for Brittany to take.

Blue eyes darted back and forth between the haunted house and the hand in front of her. After sucking in a large breath, Brittany accepted the hand and allowed the smaller cheerleader to take her inside.

Brittany's eyes remained clamped shut as she felt her body being led through the haunted house. At every noise or sudden movement she screamed and clenched on to the Latina's hand even harder than before.

"We're almost there, Britt. Don't worry," Santana informed her petrified friend. Santana too found herself feeling extremely anxious. Not because she was afraid of what was going on around her, oh no. She was Santana Lopez! Santana Lopez was not afraid of anything. No, she was worried the attraction had changed since last year.

The brunette felt her heart speed up as they approached a familiar corner. She recognized this as the place where a ghost type thing had popped out in front of her last year. She wasn't concerned whether or not the ghost was the same, no, what she wanted was the blast of air that accompanied the scare tactic. Without it she would have no excuse to make Brittany lead the way.

_Alright, moment of truth_, Santana thought to herself as they rounded the corner.

Immediately the two girls were met by a burst of air in their faces. Santana relaxed as the girl next to her screamed her head off. Now was her chance…

"Ah! Dammit!"

"What? What's wrong?" the blonde squeaked out.

"I can't see anything!"

Brittany jerked her eyes open to look at her friend in alarm; though she was extremely careful not to look anywhere else around her. "What do you mean you can't see anything? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. But that stupid blast of air messed with my contacts and when I blinked they must have fallen out."

"Can you still bring us to the clue and get us out of here?"

"Brittany, I can barely see two inches in front of me, let alone where the exit is!"

In actuality, Santana could see perfectly fine. She was currently in the process of lying through her teeth because she knew this would be the only way to convince Brittany to face her fear of the dark head on.

"How are we going to get out now?" Brittany asked, her tone becoming frantic.

"You're going to have to be the one to find the way out."

The taller girl stepped away from her friend, shaking her head vigorously as she protested, "No, no, no, no, no, no."

Even in the dim light the Latina could see tears building up in the blue eyes across from her. She grabbed the trembling dancer's hands and tried to calm her suddenly erotic breathing by rubbing her own hands up and down the taller girl's arms. "You can do it Britt. Okay? I know you can."

Brittany looked pleadingly into brown eyes, tears already streaming down her face. "I'm scared," she whispered.

"I know you are sweetie," Santana said as she enveloped the blonde cheerleader in a tight hold. "But I also know you're a lot braver than you think you are. Do you remember that time when we were eight? And even though our moms told us not to, we went in the woods and climbed trees by ourselves? Then I tried to be like Tarzan, because you were my Jane, but I fell out the tree and broke my ankle? Remember how, even though you were absolutely _terrified_ and I was screaming like a baby, you carried me on your back the entire way home? Do you remember that? Because I do. I don't think I'll ever forget the moment you became my hero. You were the bravest person I'd ever met that day. I know you're scared now, but I want you to think back to that brave little girl who carried her obnoxiously injured friend two miles piggy-back style. That's still you. You still have that courage inside of you. You can do this!" Santana took a step back to admire the frightened girl still in her grasp, "So what do you say?"

"I say you're wrong."

"Fine. We can argue about this all day, and I gladly will, but then we'll never get out of here, and we'll never find our next clue. But more importantly… we'll never get out of here."

Brittany groaned and plopped her forehead onto the smaller girl's chest knowing she was right yet again. Santana instantly began twirling the blonde's ponytail through her fingers, not realizing she was even doing it. Somewhere along the lines everything between them had simply become muscle memory; almost as if their brains had no say in what the rest of their bodies did. The two stayed connected like that for a few more moments before Brittany's muffled voice could be heard coming from the crevasses of Santana's shirt.

"I just don't want to be alone."

"You won't be alone. You've got me, and I'm not going anywhere."

Neither girl realized there was more meaning behind the other's words besides simply walking through a haunted house. Although Brittany was constantly surrounded by her friends on the Cheerios and in Glee, she always felt alone. Sure, she had a boyfriend who cared about her, but it didn't help make the feeling go away that if she stood in the middle of a crowd with her friends and began screaming her head off, no one would notice. The only time the dancer ever _truly_ felt like she wasn't lost in the world was when she was with Santana. Santana always made her feel special and important and worth something, and she was terrified one day the Latina would realize just how helpless she really was and leave her. On the other side of things, Santana was afraid Brittany no longer needed her now that Artie was in the picture. She wanted to let the blonde know that she was not going anywhere without a fight, and that the day she leaves Brittany would be the day she dies.

Santana allowed a few more seconds pass between them before she kissed the top of Brittany's head and disconnected herself from her best friend, knowing they needed to get going soon. "Here, take my hand," Brittany did as she was told. "Now hang on tight. If you get scared just squeeze my hand okay? Squeeze it as hard as you want. The only request I have is that you try not to lead us into any walls. I can't see where I'm going remember."

"I hate you," the Dutch girl deadpanned as she began moving through the haunted house.

"Lies."

The cheerleaders continued on their journey at a very strange pace. Every time they would start to speed up, something managed to frighten Brittany into complete stillness. When they finally continued moving again, it was at a much more cautious rate. Then Brittany would speed up once more and the whole process would start all over again. The Latina didn't know how long it was going to be before they got to the exit. What she did know was that her hand was officially going to snap if the blonde squeezed it any harder.

After eight more (yes Santana counted) blood curdling screams and countless turns later, Brittany came to an abrupt halt.

"San, I think we're here."

Sure enough Brittany had led them directly to the mummy's tomb. The Latina was happy to see that the clue was right where she had left it: on top of the mummy's face. She was relieved no snobby kid had taken it before they got there. But then again her cousin D'Angelo did promise to close the ride to everyone but them today.

"Alright… I'm going in," Brittany announced.

"Go get him girl!"

Very slowly, Brittany made her way over to the mummy. She reached her hand out to grab the clue, only to retract it when she was a few inches away. She kept repeating this act, each time getting closer to the clue until she was able to grasp it.

"Excuse me, sir. I'm just gonna… grab this, if you don't mind, thanks. Also, it'd mean a lot if you tried _really_ hard not to eat me."

Brittany finally snatched up the piece of paper and ran back to Santana. "Got it!"

"Awesome! Let's get out of here!"

"Thank you!"

Now that she had what she was looking for, Brittany bolted through the rest of the haunted house, her sight trained only on to the exit. The moment the cheerleaders made it out of the attraction, Santana tackled the blonde into a hug that nearly knocked her over.

"I'm so proud of you! That was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen!"

"Thanks," the Dutch girl choked out as she struggled to breathe through Santana's firm embrace. "Ugh, San… No air… not good."

"Right. Sorry." The Latina quickly let go of her friend and settled with just looking at her. She suddenly found herself getting lost in Brittany's beautiful, blue eyes. "You know… you're really cute when you're scared; borderline stunning. But right now, out here in the sun, you're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

_Where on Earth did _that _come from? ? ? ! ! ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? !_

However, to Santana's amusement, Brittany's face turned beat red at her words, and she kicked the ground with the tip of her shoe. "Yeah right. You can't even see anything right now."

"Actually, I can. I think my contacts just got really dry from the sudden blast of air and that made them go all blurry. Now that we're outside they've had time to fix themselves."

"Well isn't that convenient?"

_You have no idea_.

The two girls stared at each other for a while longer when Brittany suddenly remembered the piece of paper in her hands. She unfolded it and read it aloud to Santana.

"'I can be home to many different ocean animals, but you won't find any fish where I am. When I'm not flowing through Lima I rest high above your heads. My house is considered a tower though it doesn't have a princess to protect. You also might want to go to the bathroom when you're around me. I tend to make people have to pee.'" Brittany looked at Santana exasperated, "I have no idea! My brain is totally fried. Plus I'm wicked thirsty! Can't. Concentrate." The blonde fell to her knees as she pretended she was dying of thirst in the middle of the desert.

"Britt, what do you drink when you're thirsty?"

"Sue's Master Cleanser."

"Ew, no. What do you drink when Coach isn't looking?"

"Oh, um… soda, water, juice, mouthwash-"

"And what's the only one of those gay sharks are able to live in?"

"Water?"

"Exactly. So…"

"So we need to find Kurt!" Brittany declared as she jumped to her feet.

_Wow, she really is fried_ "No, we need to go to a tower that has water but no princess."

Brittany began thinking so hard the brunette was worried smoke might start coming out of her ears. A second later something a light bulb went off inside Brittany's head as she looked up and proclaimed, "I know where to go next! But first I gotta pee. Come on!"

For the billionth time that day the two girls linked hands as they ran to the nearest bathroom. As they passed the haunted house, the man working the entrance shouted towards them.

"See you at Tio Nicky's barbeque Sanakins! Don't forget to bring your girlfriend!"

_Oh, I won't. Just gotta make her mine first, D'Angelo. _

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**So! Did you like it? Did you like it? Did you like it? Haha.**

**I'd like to know what you thought about Santana's little comfort speech. I tried to come up with a good reason why Santana thinks Brittany is extremely brave, and I'm not sure if that was too… obvious. I don't know.**

**Oh, and when Santana said "Where on Earth did that come from" I put spaces between the punctuations, because like I said FanFiction is against my loud questions. So, that's why it's like that.**

**Anyway, thanks again for reading!**

**March 1****st****: IT's on.**


	5. One Step At A Time

**Now, this chapter did NOT end up the way I originally planned. It turned out much darker and… I don't want to say angrier… but angrier than what I thought it was going to be. But as I was writing it, I just kept getting further and further away from my original idea. Although, I do think this ended up much better than what was intended. And I'm sorry it's way longer than everything else. But again, I felt this part of the story was needed.**

**I probably should have entitled this chapter "kempokarate12 is redundant" because of all the repetition with words going on here. But there is seriously only so many ways you can decribe Brittany and Santana before you start repeating yourself. And also, the word "eyes" is used like… a lot. But I refuse to reference them as "orbs" or anything cliché like that. **

**One more thing: as I was writing this, I was going over the previous chapters and my other two stories, and I realized some of the things you're about to read contradict with what I already wrote. So I tried to tie everything together so it didn't seem like I was ignoring an already established story (( like the Glee writers tend to love to do **Brittana cough cough** )), and I do believe I accomplished that fairly well.**

**I lied, ONE more thing. I tried to announce when it was happening, but be aware of the fact there is double meaning in practically everything that is said between the two. Keep that in mind.**

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"Nope. No. Absolutely not. Sorry, wrong answer. You _are_ the weakest link, GOOD-BYE!" Brittany all but yelled at Santana as she turned to flee.

Thankfully, after so many Cheerio routines gone horribly wrong, the Latina had reflexes like a cat and quickly grabbed the blonde before she got away. "Oh no you don't. Get back here young lady."

"I'm not young!" Brittany whined as she was yanked backwards to stand next to Santana. "Besides, you can't tell me what to do."

"Sure I can. I'm older than you."

"Yeah, by like twenty _days!_"

"It still counts. Besides, what's the big deal? You were all for getting this next clue a minute ago."

"Yes, but that was before I knew it was up_ THERE!_" the Dutch girl argued as she pointed high above her head.

The two cheerleaders were currently standing at the base of one of Lima's old fashioned water towers. A bright, yellow piece of paper could barely be seen taped to the railing 200 feet above the ground. Brittany had assumed that the clue would be somewhere near the bottom of the tower, and that all she'd have to do was walk up and grab it. Though now it was clear the only way they were going to obtain the clue would be to climb the vertical, skinny, very _vertical_ ladder. An idea the blonde was _not_ a fan of.

"Come on Britt! It's the only way we're going to get our next clue!"

"No, I'm not going up there!"

"Yes you are."

"Does the word 'no' mean _anything_ to you?"

"No. What's your point? So we may have to climb a little," Santana stated simply. She hoped by coming across as being completely nonchalant about the situation would calm Brittany down long enough for her to notice that climbing to the top of the tower wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. Unfortunately, Santana's strategy appeared to be having the exact opposite effect on her friend.

"A little? _A LITTLE? !_ A _little_ is climbing to the top of a pyramid. Climbing THAT," Brittany once again threw her arm towards the object of debate, "would be like climbing forty pyramids all on top of each other. That is not a little. In fact, it is the farthest thing FROM little!"

The Dutch girl began furiously pacing back and forth, flailing her arms in overly dramatic gestures as she continued shouting out random words of protest; most of them spoken in her family's native tongue (the only Dutch she ever bothered learning). Santana, on the other hand, was too caught up in what the dancer just said to even notice her insane behavior.

"Brittany Susan Pierce, did you just do math in your head without even thinking about it?"

Brittany stopped her pacing just long enough to take in the massive smile that had spread across the smaller girl's face. Once she reveled in her accomplishment for a total of .0003 seconds, she resumed "Freak-Out Mode".

"Stop changing the subject Santana Middle Name Lopez! And yes, I did forget your middle name. But that's only because I can't think straight when you're yelling at me."

"I'm not yelling at you," Santana said calmly.

"YES YOU ARE!"

"Brittany, you'll be fine. Trust me. I wouldn't suggest going up there if I didn't think you could do it. Look, we'll just take it one step at a time, and I'll be with you every step of the way."

Brown eyes scanned the scene in front of them as they watched the blonde practically make a ditch with all the pacing she was doing. The Latina couldn't contain her laughter in any longer the moment her usually graceful counterpart tripped over her own feet in the fit of madness she was currently sporting. "Okay, you seriously need to calm down girl."

"I _AM_ CALM!" Brittany shouted. "You're the one who needs to take a chill pill!"

"I didn't just trip over my own feet."

"I didn't just trip over my own feet," Brittany mimicked.

"What are we four?"

"Yes! And would you look at that? Oh what a shame. Four year olds are too young to be climbing that high. Forty pyramids need I remind you? Oh well, we tried. Tough luck. Let's go home."

For the second time in five minutes Brittany made a mad dash to leave, and for the second time Santana was quick to stop her. She placed a firm grip on the taller girl's shoulders so she wouldn't be able to make another run for it. Brittany stumbled as she fought to escape Santana's grasp. When she realized her efforts were getting her nowhere, she reluctantly settled under the smaller girl's hold.

The two girls locked eyes, silently fighting with one another. Santana was the first one to speak. "Brittany," her voice was firm but gentle.

"Santana…" her voice was weak and pleading. The longer they held eye contact, the more Brittany's emotions got the best of her.

The Latina found herself completely disregarding the stubborn act she was trying to maintain as she watched blue eyes fill with more tears at every passing second. Santana had seen Brittany cry out of fear during multiple occasions before - they had already been through this earlier today - but something was different this time. Santana could tell the girl in front of her was experiencing something new. She wrapped her arms around the dancer in a tight hug when she saw that Brittany was absolutely petrified. The moment their bodies touched something inside Brittany snapped and she collapsed to the ground as fear and panic over took her body. Santana didn't notice her own legs smash into the gravel road as she held on to the blonde's crumpled body. The only thing she was aware of was the fact that her best friend was having a panic attack in her arms.

"Brittany… Brittany, sweetie, you need to breathe, okay? Breathe with me," Santana instructed as she pressed the hyperventilating girl securely to her torso.

"I… I … I ca-an't," Brittany struggled.

"Yes you can. Just follow the rise and fall of my chest. Alright? I'm right here, Britt. I'm right here and I'm not gonna leave you. I will never leave you."

At those words, Brittany felt her lungs constrict even further as another layer of panic slammed into her body. She knew Santana was only trying to help, but her last statement only made the situation worse. It was the fear of Santana one day leaving that had caused Brittany to fall into the current state she was in. The reality that the Latina may ultimately decide to go off on her own was absolutely crippling. Brittany always believed the two would grow old together, but now she was terrified they weren't even going to make it to graduation. They had been slowly drifting apart ever since she started dating Artie, and she feared it was only going to get worse from now on. If someone had told her hooking up with Artie would cause things to become awkward between her and Santana, she would have gone on and continued thinking he was a robot. The only reason Brittany was even dating the kid was because she thought it would make the Latina jealous enough to fight for her. She thought Santana would wake up and realize they couldn't live without one another.

But seeing Santana react in the complete opposite way made Brittany recognize the future may not turn out the way you planned. She couldn't imagine a life without the brunette right there next to her. Not only was she Brittany's soul; she was her guide, her confidant, her protector. Who would be there to pull her out of a sticky situation? Who was going to be the one to hold her when she cried at night because of the monsters underneath the bed? Who was going to tell her she was smart when the rest of the world told her she was dumb? Who would give her sweet lady kisses?

Actually, Brittany didn't even _need_ the sweet lady kisses (though she would be lying if she said she didn't _want_ them). The blonde would have gladly given up the fantasy of the two of them ever becoming a couple if it meant Santana would stay. As long as she had her best friend, and wasn't alone, she could handle the rest.

That's what scared her the most: being alone. Not being able to control the future. The uncertainty of who stays and who goes from your life. Sure, words had previously been spoken; promising one another that they would be together forever. But people say things all the time without really meaning it. The Dutch girl had unwillingly convinced herself that the things Santana said about loving her, and wanting to spend the rest of eternity with her, and how one day she could see them becoming a couple - were just empty words. Brittany had enough experience to know people tend to say things in the heat of the moment, and that promises were meant to be broken. As much as she tried to tell herself there was no truth in any of that reasoning, the sickening voice Brittany's head had other plans.

This voice had been plaguing her thoughts for a long time, but today's events seemed to have turned it up full force. Spending all afternoon with Santana like everything was perfect – like they were still the same two little girls who got married on top of a garbage heap castle – reminded Brittany of what she would be missing. As the day went on, the fears she had desperately been trying to push to the back of her mind began forcing their way through, but it was the added fear of dying (triggered by falling from the water tower) that sent Brittany over the edge.

As Brittany continued to slip deeper and deeper into a world consumed only by terror, she suddenly heard a voice calling out to her from beyond the darkness.

"Brittany! Brittany baby open your eyes! Please, just open your eyes for me. Show me those gorgeous sky blues of yours."

Hearing the brunette's own terrified voice seemed to have just enough power to slowly release Brittany from her nightmare. The world rapidly started rushing back to her and the sound of quiet sobs had the final strength to break through the prison Brittany's mind currently held her in. When she was finally able to open her eyes she found herself staring up at a petrified, tear-stained face.

"Good, good. Now just keep looking at me. Everything is going to be fine. Just look right in my eyes," Santana cried as she witnessed her only reason to live desperately struggling for air.

As blue eyes focused on the brown ones staring down at her with fear and love written all over them, Brittany noticed her lungs weren't screaming so loud and the death grip she had on Santana's shorts began to slacken.

When Santana felt the blonde's body begin to relax, and saw frantically moving eyes settle on her own, she knew she had her friend back. The Latina immediately wrapped her arm around Brittany's head, so her palm was resting on the dancer's brow, and held it tightly against her chest. Santana subconsciously began rocking back and forth; tapping in to the paternal instincts she developed over the years of comforting Brittany.

"What… happened?" Santana whispered into Brittany's ear.

The Dutch girl could feel her hair getting wet from the silent tears that continued to fall effortlessly down her protector's face, and she felt awful she was the cause of them. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. You're okay."

"It was… an accident. I didn't mean to… I swear," Brittany panted, still out of breath.

"Ssshh, I know," Santana kissed the top of Brittany's head and rested the underside of her chin atop blonde hair, squeezing their body's closer together. "Oh my God, don't ever do that to me again. You scared the shit out of me."

"Really?"

"What do you mean '_really'_? I just held my best friend as she began to slip away because she couldn't breathe. I just had to shake the most important thing in my life awake because something in this world was too hard for her to deal with. So, yes, you scared me. I have never been more terrified in my entire life."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry. Just tell me why this happened so I make sure you never experience that again."

Brittany wished more than anything she could tell Santana what was going on inside her mind, but she knew that was impossible. If she told the truth, she knew the smaller girl – who was currently trailing tan fingers up and down her limp arm – would just run off again. So she stuck with being vague, "I can't. Please don't make me."

"What, climb the water tower?" _Oh my God! This is all my fault,_ Santana thought to herself. _I never would have brought her here if I had known it would be like this._ "Britt, you don't have to go up there if you don't want to. Okay? _I _don't want you to."

Hearing those words made something inside the Dutch girl click. She suddenly wanted nothing more than to make it to the top of the water tower. Not only because she wanted to get the next clue and finish what she started, but she wanted to prove to herself that she could do this. That she was able to do things without relying on Santana to do them for her. If she was going to be left alone one day, she might as well start practicing now. One step at a time.

"No," Brittany declared as she lifted herself shakily from Santana's lap, "I'm going to the top of that damn tower."

"What? ! Are you _insane_? !" the smaller girl shouted as she instantly sprang to her feet. "You just had a freaking PANIC ATTACK because of that thing! And now you want to climb it? ! Absolutely not!"

"Earlier, you were practically _forcing_ me to go up there, now you're telling me I'm not allowed to. What changed?"

"Okay, first of all, I would _never_ force you to do anything you didn't want to do. Nor would I even consider _suggesting_ you do anything if I didn't think it was safe enough, or I thought it could potentially put your life in danger. And second of all, I don't know what changed. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that you were hyperventilating in my arms a second ago!"

"Yeah, well I'm fine now. And I'm going to get that next clue. In case you've forgotten we've still got a mystery to solve."

"That doesn't even matter anymore! Nothing in the world is more important to me than being able to protect you. And if climbing to the top of that… that THING is going to make you freak out then it is _not_. worth it! I don't want a repeat of what just happened! I can't watch that again." Santana pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes as she let out a groan; completely aggravated with what was going on. This was _so_ not how she wanted this day to end up. "God, Brittany! What are you trying to prove? !"

"EVERYTHING!" The blonde screamed as she whipped around so her back was to the Latina. She closed her eyes, taking a few ragged breaths in an effort to calm herself before she continued, "Just… please Santana. I need to do this for me. Okay?"

The smaller girl stared at her friends back as she struggled with the idea of letting Brittany do what was originally planned. She wanted to bring Brittany here so she could get over her fear of heights, though Santana had assumed she was only going to need to do a little bit of convincing. You know, throw in the whole "Look what you have already accomplished today. You'll be so proud of yourself when you're done," sort of thing. Santana had no idea events were going to turn out the way they did. Sure, seeing Brittany this set on making it to the top of the water tower was what was intended, yes. But after what had just happened, Santana was worried Brittany's desperate need to prove something was clouding her better judgment.

Santana slowly walked up behind Brittany and wrapped her arms around the dancer's slender waist. There was _something _she needed to say to her; just a simple two letter word. But no matter how hard she tried, Santana could not figure out what was needed to be said for this kind of situation. Burying her face into the taller girl's back she breathed out defeated, "And you're absolutely _sure_ you're okay enough to do this?"

"I'm fine, don't worry."

"I always worry about you. It's my job. You are my life, and I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I let anything happen to you."

Brittany's heart suddenly accelerated to twice its normal speed as she processed what the Latina just said. The thought quickly crossed her mind that maybe, just _maybe_, Santana was scared too. But then she remembered Santana Lopez wasn't scared of anything (Brittany figured the confession that occurred a few moments ago was a onetime thing), and that thought left her mind faster than it had come.

The Dutch girl began walking towards the ladder, bringing Santana along; who was still attached to her waist. Reaching out, she wrapped her fingers around the cool metal and glanced back at her friend.

Santana nodded, answering the unspoken question. "One step at a time."

Brittany took one last breath before she pulled herself up and began the vertical climb to the top of the tower. Very slowly, and very carefully, she reached above her head to grab each awaiting rung, ultimately developing a pattern: Hand, foot, hand, foot, stop, breathe. Hand, foot, hand, foot, stop, breathe. Every time Brittany stopped, Santana would lace her fingers around the dancer's ankle to remind Brittany she was right behind her.

The two maintained this pattern for a while, slowly but surely making their way to the top. They had come to the breathing part of their routine, and after half a minute they still weren't moving. Santana looked up and saw her friend had her arms wrapped around the ladder, clinging on for dear life. Her head was pressed firmly on to the rung she was holding and she appeared to be trying very hard to control her breathing.

"Brittany? Brittany, talk to me! What's going on?" The Latina called out, failing at her attempt to hide the fear in her voice.

"Hold please."

"Hun, we can't stop here. I don't care what direction we go in, but I want you moving. This whole thing is really starting to freak me out."

"But you're not scared of anything."

"I'm scared of a lot of things actually. Mostly when it comes to you, and I am currently petrified. I don't know what's going through your head right now, but I need you to talk to me so we can get through it together."

"Here? ! Now? !"

"If that's what it takes to get you to move then yes!"

"I don't think I'll _ever_ be able to move. I seem to have forgotten how that works."

"You can do it. You've already made it more than halfway up. We just need to climb about fifteen more pyramids."

"FIFTEEN? !" the blonde cried.

"It's really not that far, we'll make it up in no time. You are so close. Imagine how amazing you'll feel when you reach the top. And I'll be right behind you the entire way, I promise."

"I'm scared Santana. You don't understand," Brittany whispered down to her friend.

"Then make me understand!"

"It's not that simple!"

Brittany did consider divulging her secret fears right then and there, taking into account there was nowhere for the brunette to run at the moment. But she realized there was a major possibility the Latina would say whatever needed to be said in order to make her happy enough to keep moving. She didn't want to get her hopes up just to have Santana turn her back in the future. Everything was so messed up and Brittany didn't know what to do, or say, anymore.

"I just… I need you to tell me I'll be okay," she finally settled for.

"You'll be fine! You've made it this far."

"Yes, but I had _YOU!_"

"And you still have me! How many times do I have to tell you? ! I'm never gonna leave you! We'll climb this together!"

Brittany screamed at the top of her lungs in frustration. She had stopped talking about climbing the water tower a _long_ time ago, and she didn't understand how her friend had yet to realize that. But what she didn't realize herself was that Santana had stopped talking about the water tower a long time ago too.

Santana watched as a new wave of tears silently burst through the Dutch girl's tightly clamped eyelids.

"Brittany – "

"Santana," the blonde interrupted, "Stop talking. Okay? Please stop talking."

The dancer took a few deep breaths in order to gather enough courage to finish climbing the ladder, tears streaming down her face the entire way. When she finally made it to the top, she crawled on to the platform (as far away from the edge as possible) and immediately rolled over on her back. Covering her face with her forearms, and crying silently to herself, Brittany didn't notice Santana had carefully picked up her head and placed it delicately onto her crossed legs. The cheerleaders fit so perfectly together, no matter what position they were in, it was literally impossible to feel where their own body ended and the other began. Their limbs were just extensions of one another and the world was complete only when they were touching.

Brittany was so comfortable with her head (unknowingly) in Santana's lap that she had forgotten where she was. She only realized her surroundings, and the position she was in, when she heard a faint voice singing softly above her.

"John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt. His name is my name too. Whenever we go out, the people always shout: there goes John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt! Na na na na na na na."

"Really?" Brittany couldn't help but giggled into her elbow. "Out of all the songs in the universe, you pick 'John Jacob'? That's such an awful song."

"Oh don't give me that. You. Loved it." Santana emphasized each word by removing one arm from Brittany's face at a time so the two girls were now smiling at one another.

"Not particularly."

"Liar! Tell me you loved it," the Latina prodded while poking her friend in the side. When the blonde refused to give in, a full blown war broke out between the two. Santana found herself sitting on top of a shrieking Brittany as she tickled her struggling friend's body.

"St – stop!" Brittany choked out between gut wrenching laughter.

"Then say it! I won't stop unless you say it!"

"Okay, okay, okay, okay, OKAY!" the trapped girl declared as she raised her arms up in defense. "I surrender! I loved it!"

"Prooomise?"

"I swear! I swear!"

"Thank you!" Santana sang as she dismounted her friend and helped her up.

"You suck."

"I know." The Latina shrugged her shoulders and skipped over to the awaiting clue and brought it back to Brittany. "Here you go my lady," she said with a bow.

"Why thank you my kind sir," Brittany responded with a curtsy. "Alright, here we go: 'I may not look like a castle, but I hold the most beautiful princess in the world. And though my knight may be small, he will do anything to protect her. Most people view me as a dump, but in the eyes of some, I am a place of magic. You will find the end of your journey in the place that started it all.' I know _exactly_ where to go," the blonde stated without any hesitation. She bounced over to the ladder, immediately stopping as she looked around. "Whoa… We're up pretty high…"

"Did you _seriously_ just look down?"

"Where else do you expect me to look?"

"I don't know! NOT down!" Santana finagled herself in front of the frozen girl, "Here, let me go first."

The brunette began descending the tower with Brittany right on top of her. If anyone in Lima had been paying the slightest bit of attention to the wind, they would have heard the beautiful sound of two best friends belting "John Jacob", at the top of their lungs, being carried down to Earth.

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**What did you guys think? Please tell me if this was too over the top and completely unneeded. I appreciate any and all feedback!**

**Also, does anyone have an idea where they're going to end up? I gave a few very subtle hints throughout the chapter.**


	6. Step Aside Wheels

**We have made it to the end of our adventure. I'd like to thank every single one of you guys who stuck with me throughout this journey. I would like to say a special thank you to Cognitivism, killercereal and yusubassoon. You guys really helped me out with my story and confidence in writing. **

**Unfortunately I have to say my confidence for this chapter is pretty much nonexistent. I don't know why, but for some reason I'm just not as excited about this as I was with the others. I'm not sure if it has to do with the fact that it's currently 3 in the morning. Or if because my last chapter was my peak and I don't think anything is worth following it. But, I promised I'd post this chapter before I fell asleep so that's what I'm doing. Regardless… I'm not sure about this one.**

**I would also like to point out listening to the right kind of music REALLY helps. While I was writing Santana I listened to: "Your Guardian Angel" by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, "Good Life" by One Republic, "Less Than Perfect" by P!nk, and "Almost Lover" by A Fine Frenzy (( to remind me of what NOT to do )). It definitely got me in the right mind set.**

**Anyway, thanks again for all the support I got in writing this story. It really means a lot. Good luck in reading this! You'll need it!**

* * *

"What are you _doing_?" Santana demanded as she reached up to pull away the hand that was shielding her vision. Brittany was stumbling behind Santana as she struggled to keep her palm plastered to her best friend's face.

"Hang on!" the blonde giggled as she swatted at the Latina's attempts to see. "Just a few more steps… aaannndd … TA DAAAA!" Brittany threw her arms up in a wide V as she revealed their location.

Santana broke into an affectionate grin the instant she recognized the sight before her. The taller girl had led them to the back part of Lima's garbage dump so they were standing in front of their secret entrance. It wasn't so much of a secret entrance as it was a pile of wooden crates piled in front of a metal fence. But the girls knew if they climbed the stack of crates and hopped the fence, the man working in the little tin shed would never notice the break in.

With Santana in the lead, the cheerleaders repeated the task they performed so many times before as children, and soon enough they were on the opposite side of the fence. A few seconds after her feet hit the dirt, Santana felt a strong arm find its way around her waist. She automatically leaned back comfortably into her best friend, closing her eyes in the process. A warm familiarity descended upon the two as they stood facing the never ending piles of trash.

"Do you remember this place, San?"

"Mmmhmm," the brunette mumbled fondly. "How could I forget? Your mom FLIPPED when she finally found you."

"She totally overreacted."

"Brittany, you wandered off by yourself because you got bored of her talking to her friend on the way home from grocery shopping! AND you were wearing a toilet seat around your neck!"

"No. I wandered off because I heard a psycho child shouting orders at her minions to steal the world's largest cotton candy factory. And I was only wearing that thing because we couldn't find a good enough robe. That was the first time I ever got grounded," the blonde pouted.

"Well, I'm glad you wandered off. Otherwise I never would have met you."

"And I'm glad you liked to stalk teenage boys as a child. Otherwise you never would have followed them here and discovered our kingdom. This is my favorite place in the world, you know."

"Yeah, mine too. Come on."

The Latina straightened up allowing Brittany to trail pale fingers along her back until she found the taller girl's hand in her own. The two girls began making their way through the dump. As the cheerleaders passed massive piles of trash, they listened to the quiet echo of little girls' laughter bouncing off the mountains of unwanted treasure.

"_AAAHHH AH AAAHHH!" a feisty, brown-headed girl hollered from her spot at the top of a garbage mound as she drummed her chest with fists. "I am the most terrifying dragon in the entire world! Hear me roar!"_

"_Dragons don't make that noise, silly. Only gorillas do."_

_Dropping her hands at the interruption, the brunette looked down at the girl who distracted her. "So? I can make that noise if I want to!"_

"_Nuh uh!" a soft spoken blonde declared as she shook her head in protest. "You can only make that noise if you're a gorilla!"_

_The girl located at the top of the pile put on hand on her hip in annoyance (an act she would soon come to master). "Dragons are way more scarier than gorillas! Who would you rather have protect you? A big, mean dragon? Or a fat, hairy gorilla?"_

_The girl sitting on a throne of abandoned tires chewed her bottom lip as she thought hard about the question that was just asked (an act that would ultimately become her trademark). "A dragon!"_

"_Okay then! Now let me get back to guarding you." The brown haired girl extended her arms as far as they could go above her head as she looked back up and yelled towards the sky. "You have been warned! Those who dare harm Princess Brittany must face the wrath of the Santana Dragon! AAAHHH AH AAAHHH!"_

The brunette chuckled to herself and carefully nudged the girl next to her. When Brittany looked, Santana curled her free hand into a fist and lightly beat her chest a couple of times.

The blonde scrunched her nose at the gesture, "Only gorillas do that silly."

"Who would you rather have protecting you? A big ass dragon? Or a lame, cry-baby gorilla?"

"A big ass dragon."

Santana only winked as they continued walking hand in hand.

"_Look! I'm flying!" Standing on her toes, on top of a tipped refrigerator, a Dutch girl held her arms like Superman as her hair blew in the wind._

_Lying at the end of the overturned appliance, with her legs dangling over the edge, a Latina was tracing shapes in the clouds. "Very impressive."_

"_I'm gonna fly one day you know," the pale girl announced as she plopped down next to her friend. "They have this bubble powered jet pack and I'm gonna steal it so I can fly around the world. Just you wait and see."_

"_Oh I believe you." The tan girl stopped her motion of tracing lazy shapes in the sky and made her finger into a definite point, "Hey! Doesn't that cloud look like a hippogriff?"_

"_Where?" the sitting girl asked as she looked up at the sky and narrowed her eyes against the blinding sun. "What that one? No. It looks like a unicorn."_

"_Dude, it is obviously a hippogriff."_

"_No it's not."_

"_Yes it is!"_

"_Okay, how 'bout this? When I get the jet pack I'll fly up there and ask what it is for you."_

"_Well then I'd have to come with you. That way I know you're telling me the truth because then I'll hear it for myself."_

"_How are we _both_ going to fly up there? There's only one jet pack."_

"_I'll hold on to you."_

_The Dutch girl sprawled out on to her back so her head was resting on the Latina's stomach, and her toes were playing with the freezer door handle. "As tight as you can?"_

"_And never let go."_

_Tan and pale fingers found themselves being intertwined as the girls studied the clouds overhead._

"_Hey San?"_

"_Yeah Britt?"_

"_That one's a duck."_

"_What sky are _you_ looking at? It's a platypus!"_

Brittany stole a glance to the girl next to her and couldn't contain the loving smile that danced its way across her lips. Santana could feel eyes on her and when she looked at Brittany (who was still sporting that goofy smile), she felt her cheeks flair up immediately.

"What?" the Latina laughed embarrassed.

The Dutch girl looked down at their hands, that were still clasping one another, and somehow her smile got bigger; making her blue eyes shine in the setting sun. "You're holding me tight."

"And I'm never letting go." Santana pressed her nose against Brittany's shoulder, stumbling a little as she began walking sideways in order to keep the contact with her friend.

When Brittany heard the tan girl scoff it was her turn to laugh, "What?"

"It was totally a hippogriff."

Brittany reached across her body, with the hand that wasn't being accompanied by Santana's, and patted the Latina's head childishly. "Whatever stops the tears."

The two girls continued their walk through the dump as they absorbed the memorable trash around them. They slapped their foreheads in embarrassment as they passed the rusted, old, _stationary_ pick-up truck Santana taught herself how to "drive" in, laughing at the memory of the Latina stubbornly deciding this was car they would travel around the country in together. They stopped and marveled at the fairy town Brittany created entirely out of milk cartons and soda cans, surprised it was still standing completely unscathed after all these years. They pretended to gag as they walked by the shredded mattress they once saw Patches sleeping on, extremely NOT clothed, in the middle of July. They gasped when they saw it: their castle. Or really, the tallest garbage heap in the center of the dump.

Brittany untangled her fingers from Santana's so she could sprint ahead and reclaim what was once hers. The brunette smiled at the familiar sight of her best friend ruling atop a rubber throne. She climbed up behind Brittany and sat on the highest tire (the one she put there as a child so she could always see who was entering their kingdom). With her legs hanging on either side of Brittany, the Latina snaked her arms around the dancer's neck and pulled their bodies close. The blonde let her head fall lazily onto one of Santana's knees as she let the memories of her past come flooding back to her; to both of them.

"_Halt! Who goes there? !" a small, brown eyed girl called out from her position at the top of the massive garbage heap. She was covered from head to toe in aluminum foil and was branding a television antennae sword at her intruder._

"_Why are you dressed so funny?" a blue eyed girl asked, completely ignoring the question._

"_I'm not dressed funny! I'm dressed like a knight!"_

"_You can't be a knight, you're a girl!"_

_The small "knight" ran down the pile of trash – so as not to fall over – until she was in front of the girl who was just barely taller than she was. "My mommy says I can be whatever I want!"_

"_Can I be a knight too?"_

"_No. I'm the only knight around here!"_

"_Oh," the taller of the two responded sadly as she kicked the dirt with her shoe._

_Suddenly feeling really bad she caused this new girl to be upset, the pint sized warrior quickly spoke up, "But you can still play with me if you want!"_

"_How? I'm not a knight."_

"_Ummm…" the small girl bit her finger nail as she looked around at the trash surrounding them. "I know!" she declared before she ran a few feet away to grab something. When she returned she was holding a pink (why it was pink she didn't know) Christmas wreath. Reaching up she carefully perched it on top of the taller girl's head. "There! Now you're a princess!"_

_The two girls shared semi-toothless smiles with each other for a moment before the newly crowned princess clapped her hands together as a thought occurred to her. "Now we have to get married!"_

"_Ewwwww!" the little knight scrunched her face in disgust. "Why do we have to get married? !"_

"_Because that's what they do in the stories! When the knight finds his princess they always get married. It's a rule."_

"_I don't like that rule."_

"_If you don't want to marry me then I don't want to play with you," the blue eyed girl huffed as she turned to storm away._

_The smaller child stuck her hand out to grab her departing companion. "Fine, I'll marry you. Just keep playing with me, okay?" Clasping their hands together, she led them up to the top of the garbage pile. She looked at the other girl expectedly, unsure if what she was doing was correct. "Are we married now?"_

"_No. We have to say our wedding vows! You go first since you're the knight and the guy always goes first."_

"_But I don't know what to say…"_

"_Okay then, I'll go first. I, Princess Brittany take Knight… what's your name?"_

"_Santana."_

"_Take Knight Santana to be my lovely wedded husband. Now it's your turn."_

"_I… Knight Santana… take Princess Brittany?... To be my lovely wedded wife."_

"_Now we kiss."_

"_I don't want to kiss you!" the brown eyed girl shrieked._

"_But that's how you make a wedding for real. The bride and groom GOTTA kiss!"_

_The shorter of the two furrowed her eyebrows as she concentrated on finding a solution to their problem. Her face suddenly softened and she burst into a crazy grin. "Give me your hand!" She grabbed the other girl's hand and separated her little finger from the rest. She then curled her own pinky around the one she was holding and gave it a tight squeeze. "There! Now it's for real!"_

_The "Princess" beamed at the gesture, lighting up her eyes as she did so. "Cool. Now what do we do?"_

"_Now we rule over our kingdom. While you stay in the castle and give orders, I go out and fight the monsters."_

"_How come I don't get to come with you?"_

"_Because, silly! I'm the knight. The knight has to protect the princess. I have to make sure nothing harms you for as long as I live." Still holding their pinkies together, the self-proclaimed protector tilted her head back and shouted to the world, "DO YOU HEAR THAT? ! If you want to harm Princess Brittany you'll have to get through me first! No one is allowed here! This is OUR kingdom! WE rule this land!"_

"_Does… does this mean we're friends now?" the tall girl asked shyly._

"_Duh! It means we're __**best**__ friends! Best friends forever! Now come on. We can't rule a kingdom without a throne!"_

_Sliding down the garbage pile, hand in hand, the newlyweds giggled as they carefully gathered tires to complete their castle._

"Do you ever miss it?" the smaller cheerleader's voice rippled through the quiet.

Brittany, whose blue eyes were closed, slid her head up along Santana's thigh until it connected with the brunette's stomach. She hummed contently when she felt gentle fingers running through her hair. "Miss what?"

"Innocence. The way things used to be. When the most drama we had was when our parents wouldn't let us shave our pets and sell their hair to buy a plan ticket to the North Pole. Before it was all about who knew who, and where you sat in the cafeteria, and how you ranked on the 'Top Bitch Scale'. A time when popularity was based on whether or not you were allowed to watch MTV. Not because you had sex with the most boys. Childhood. Do you ever miss it?"

"Every second of every day. But do you want to know the one thing that keeps me from going completely insane?"

What?"

The dancer lifted her right hand, which had mysteriously latched itself on to the brunette's, and kissed their intertwined pinkies. "You."

At that statement, Santana couldn't take it any longer. She _needed_ to be touching the blonde more than she already was. Carefully lowering herself from the tire she was perched on, Santana finagled herself so she was wedged between Brittany and her previous seat. Brittany habitually adjusted herself to give the Latina enough room to squeeze behind her. When everyone was situated, the Dutch girl spread her weight evenly across Santana's torso.

It was moments like these Santana cherished more than anything. Moments when she was pressed against her best friend, breathing in her scent; trying to memorize everything about her. How she always placed her right temple against the left side of the brunette's neck. How she always made sure they were breathing in time with one another. How she never forgot to tangle their arms and legs together so they were in a comfortable mess. How she subconsciously mapped out Santana's heartbeat with her fingers. Moments when they simply took one another in – not talking, not moving, not doing anything except existing for their other half. Moments Santana never wanted to end. She prayed moments like these would last forever. So she could spend the rest of her life holding on to the one person who made her feel like she was worth something. Moments where no words needed to be spoken and they still knew everything the other was thinking. Well… almost everything.

Santana was still thinking about what occurred only an hour ago. In fact, she hadn't _stopped_ thinking about it since it happened. She couldn't suppress the feeling of overwhelming guilt that slithered its way through her veins. Her job was to protect Brittany with everything she had; even if it killed her. But she knew she had failed that job the moment she lost sight of the most beautiful eyes she's ever seen as her blonde slowly drifted away from her. Her heart completely shattered in that moment. Something was harming Brittany and she didn't know what it was, or how to stop it. The only thing Santana could imagine herself doing from then on was making sure she _never_ let Brittany be attacked that way again; no matter what it took. But in order to fight this invisible monster, Santana needed to know what she was up against.

"Hey Britt? Back at the… at the water tower… what happened to you? What terrified you so much it made you freak out like that?" the Latina whispered. She waited for a verbal response, but the only response she got was the feeling of the dancer's body tensing significantly against her own. "It's okay. You don't have to tell me now if you don't want to. Just know that I'm here when you're ready. Okay? I love you too much to just let that go. And I _refuse_ to let that happen again. I will do anything and everything in my power to make sure you're always safe. Do you get that?"

"I get it. I'm just sorry you had to be there to see that."

"No, I'm glad I was there. I don't know what I would have done if I found out you experienced that alone."

Brittany couldn't help but laugh at the irony of what Santana just said. Here she was talking about not wanting Brittany to be alone, when the blonde knew one day that's just what she was going to be: alone. And all because of Santana too. It all just seemed sort of silly. "Funny you should mention that, actually. Back there… at the… well… the reason I… you know… was because I –" the Dutch girl suddenly cut herself off mid sentence. She was about to let Santana fully in (an act she _never_ thought she'd hesitate in doing before), when something caught her attention. "What is that?"

As the dancer was staring at the "castle" in front of her, trying to find the right words to say, the last few rays of the sun reflected off of something and bounced the light into her eyes. Squinting against the glare, Brittany noticed the sun was shining on a silver latch attached to a carefully placed box. The box stuck out amongst the disheveled mess around it and instantly grabbed Brittany's attention. Using Santana's knees for support, the blonde girl pushed herself up and walked over to the mysterious object with one eyebrow raised in confusion. As Brittany drew closer to the mysterious object at hand, she discovered it not only was a box – it was a treasure chest. The Dutch girl picked it up and examined her find. Written on the front, in bright orange paint, was "S.S.S.S." and attached to the top was a note.

"San! I think we found it! The end to our mystery!" the blonde whirled around so she was facing the Latina, excitement written all over her face.

All Santana's body was able to do was stare gaping at Brittany as she watched her friend un-tape the note from the treasure chest and tuck the box under her arm so she could unfold the piece of paper and read what it said.

"'To my beautiful, blue-eyed, Dutch princess'," the taller girl jerked her head up, her face dropping in shock, meeting the gaze of nervous, brown eyes. After getting a slow, confirming nod from the cheerleader still sitting on the tires, Brittany continued reading. "'Wow. Who'd of thought I would ever resort to being cheesy? I don't do cheesy. But, that's what you do. You make me do crazy things. Things I'd never imagine doing in a million years. I don't know why, but you make me want to be good. And you make me good. I just want to do everything I can to make you proud of me. Because you deserve the best and you shouldn't have to put up with unnecessary crap. Crap that I dish out. You're an amazing person, Brittany, and I only wish you knew how much you mean to me. I find myself constantly going back to the day we met, and thanking God I was smart enough to let you play with me. Seeing those amazing blue eyes of yours light up when we made our marriage for real was the best thing that's ever happened to me. It made me realize what we had was different. Even at seven years old I knew something as extraordinary as you didn't come around every day. From the moment you spoke to me, I knew I had found my soul mate. I…'"

Brittany's breath hitched in her throat as she attempted to keep the threatening tears that were pricking at the corners of her eyes at bay. However, the moment she felt shaking hands cover her own, her tears began flowing freely down her cheeks.

"Keep going," Santana whispered. Both girls were looking down at the piece of paper, too emotional to meet the other's gaze.

Brittany sniffed loudly, not caring about the fact that there was a tremendous amount of snot running down her nose, as she composed herself enough to continue reading. "'I… love you Brittany Susan Pierce. Probably more than you know. You are literally the only reason why I wake up in the morning. Whenever I see your gorgeous smile flashing, I know I have nothing to worry about and that everything is going to be okay. You are my heart, my soul, my will to live, my entire world. I can't even begin to tell you how grateful I am you "picked me". I love you so, so much. Please know that. Love, with all my heart, your tiny, Latina knight."

Brittany couldn't say anything. She couldn't look up from the paper in her hands. She read the note over again to herself to make sure she hadn't just imagined the whole thing. Tears continued to trail down her cheeks as she determined the note was real, that she wasn't making it up.

Santana reached up to brush the blonde's cheek with her thumb. "Happy tears?" she asked nervously.

"Yes," the taller girl laughed nodding her head earnestly. "Absolutely and completely happy tears. _Extremely_ happy tears."

"I'm really sorry it was so stupid. It sounded better in my head. I just have a really hard time saying how I feel, especially when it comes to you. And if you hate it just tell me because I can take it," the Latina rambled.

"Stop," blue eyes finally looked up from the paper and into their other half. "I love it. Okay? It's perfect."

The two stared fondly at the girl opposite themselves, silently soaking in the love they had for one another.

"So…?" Santana spoke up not being able to handle the silence any longer.

"You did all this? Everything we did today? All the clues, the tasks; the whole thing, that was you?" Santana shrugged her shoulders, smiling shyly. "Why?"

"Because I like to see you happy. That spark you get when you accomplish something on your own, that's what I live for. When you danced at Sectionals I have never been more proud of you than I was in that moment. Up until now that is. I just wanted you to be as proud of yourself as I am in you. Is that too much to ask? To see my best friend happy?"

Brittany flung her arms around the smaller girl's neck, dropping the treasure chest in the process (but making sure she still clung on to the note). "No, it most definitely is not. Thank you so, super duper much. Today was the best day ever. But, you didn't have to do this you know."

The brunette pushed Brittany's body slightly away from her own, but being sure she left their bodies close enough so the blonde's arms were still draped over her shoulders. "Yes I did. Look, I know I've said this a million times before. But I need you to understand that I have never meant anything more in my entire life. I will do _anything_ for you. I will dress up like Rachel Berry and do The Chicken Dance in the middle of the cafeteria if you asked me to. I would take a thousand bullets for you without thinking twice about it. I meant what I said when we were kids. I'm the knight, and it's my job to protect you for as long as I live. I'm here to ward off any evil. Whether you like it or not."

"I like it. Please don't ever stop." Brittany pressed their foreheads together, closing her eyes at the contact.

"Don't worry. I won't. You're stuck with me missy. Forever and ever. Now… aren't you forgetting something?"

"Hmmm?"

"You still haven't opened the treasure chest."

The dancer unhinged herself from the Latina and bent down to open the nearly forgotten box. The instant her eyes locked onto the object inside, Brittany squealed with delight.

"I knew it! I knew it, I knew it, I KNEW IT!" Brittany jumped up and down in utter joy as she yanked a stuffed, purple heffalump out of the chest.

Santana giggled as she watched the blonde dance around with her new buddy. When the cheerleaders made eye contact, Brittany immediately stopped what she was doing. Keeping her eyes locked on the brunette's, Brittany slowly walked over to the other girl. The air suddenly became very thin and Santana's heart started sprinting in her chest when the Dutch girl didn't stop advancing until they were practically on top of each other. And the moment their lips touched, Santana was pretty sure her legs turned to jello.

It wasn't a deep, passionate kiss by any means. And when the blonde pulled away, neither girl was out of breath. But, in those quick seconds Santana experienced the sweetest, most sincere kiss she's ever had. Brittany's lips were soft against her own and the emotion behind them was real. In that one moment Santana couldn't think of a single thing she'd rather be doing.

When the cheerleaders broke contact, Santana reluctantly opened her eyes. The smaller girl was met with the sight of Brittany biting her lower lip, her eyes sparkling as a sly smile graced its way onto her lips.

The Latina had to rapidly re-teach herself the alphabet, and then what words were, and then how to make words with the alphabet. Then she had to figure out how to speak rather quickly so she wasn't just standing there like a nerd.

"What was that?" she ultimately spit out.

"Your first clue."

Brittany's smile grew as she brushed passed a gaping Santana to go sit back on her throne, her newly acquired heffalump in tow. The brunette turned around on her spot and had an extremely difficult time containing the childish grin that appeared on her face as she watched Brittany show her purple friend their kingdom.

_Step aside Wheels. Santana Lopez is back._

* * *

**So? What did you guys think?**

**I'm sorry it was all long paragraphs and so slow and uneventful. It appeared better in my head when I saw it as a scene.**

**Reviews are welcomed. And any suggestions as to how I should continue their story line together. Because I'm definitely not stopping here!**


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